DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was received on . Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the indication" in “the at least one memory and the at least one processor are configured to cause the UE to access the indication from a subscriber identity module (SIM) configured to store the indication;” and “or the at least one memory and the at least one processor are configured to cause the UE to receive the indication from the preferred PLMN”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as it is unclear what “the indication” is for.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 6, 18, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) .
Regarding Claim 1, Chun teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory; ([0017] "the UE comprising a communication module; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor,"), and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one memory and the at least one processor configured to cause the UE to: ([0017] "the UE comprising a communication module; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one computer memory upon execution stores instructions), perform a public land mobile network (PLMN) scan according to a first schedule when a preferred PLMN of the UE is associated with discontinuous coverage (DC); ([0461] "That is, if the UE in the automatic network selection mode fails in accessing the allowed PLMN, the UE obtains the user consent for the PLMN supporting RLOS, selects an RLOS PLMN, and moves to an RLOS network selection mode” and Fig. 10A, [0525] "As illustrated in FIG. 10A, if registration on a PLMN selected by the user fails, the UE can search for at least one PLMN providing an Attach for a restricted local operator service (RLOS) in a manual network selection mode in S1030A"), and perform the PLMN scan according to a second schedule when the preferred PLMN of the UE is not associated with DC ([0461] "If the UE successfully registers on the RLOS PLMN and then receives RLOS service to register on the RLOS PLMN, the UE again returns to the automatic or manual PLMN selection mode that the UE has used previously" and Fig. 10B, [0528] "As illustrated in FIG. 10B, the UE can search for at least one PLMN providing an Attach for a restricted local operator service (RLOS) in S1010A").
Regarding Claim 2, Chun teaches the invention of Claim 1, further comprising the preferred PLMN is at least one of: a home PLMN (HPLMN); ([0292] "As an option, in automatic selection mode, when no EHPLMN list is present, the UE may select the HPLMN"), a PLMN having a higher priority than a current PLMN serving the UE; ([0292] "When the EHPLMN list is present, the UE may select the highest priority EHPLMN among the available EHPLMNs"), or the current PLMN serving the UE ([0291] "At switch on, when in coverage of the last registered PLMN as stored in the SIM/USIM, the UE will attach to that network").
Regarding Claim 6, Chun teaches the invention of Claim 1, further comprising the preferred PLMN is associated with DC is based on a mode of operation of the UE ([0292] “As an option, in automatic selection mode, when no EHPLMN list is present, the UE may select the HPLMN. When the EHPLMN list is present, the UE may select the highest priority EHPLMN among the available EHPLMNs. The operator shall be able to control the UE behavior by USIM configuration” and [0293] “As an option, if the UE is in manual network selection mode at switch-on” and [0294] “if the last registered PLMN is unavailable and no equivalent PLMN is available,” and [0295] “and the UE finds it is in coverage of either the HPLMN or an EHPLMN” and [0311] “When registration cannot be achieved, different (discontinuous) PLMN search schemes may be used in order to minimize the access time while maintaining battery life, e.g. by prioritizing the search in favor of BCCH carriers which have a high probability of belonging to an available and allowable PLMN”).
Regarding Claim 18, Chun teaches a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE), comprising: performing a public land mobile network (PLMN) scan according to a first schedule when a preferred PLMN of the UE is associated with discontinuous coverage (DC); ([0461] "That is, if the UE in the automatic network selection mode fails in accessing the allowed PLMN, the UE obtains the user consent for the PLMN supporting RLOS, selects an RLOS PLMN, and moves to an RLOS network selection mode” and Fig. 10A, [0525] "As illustrated in FIG. 10A, if registration on a PLMN selected by the user fails, the UE can search for at least one PLMN providing an Attach for a restricted local operator service (RLOS) in a manual network selection mode in S1030A"), and performing the PLMN scan according to a second schedule when the preferred PLMN of the UE is not associated with DC ([0461] "If the UE successfully registers on the RLOS PLMN and then receives RLOS service to register on the RLOS PLMN, the UE again returns to the automatic or manual PLMN selection mode that the UE has used previously" and Fig. 10B, [0528] "As illustrated in FIG. 10B, the UE can search for at least one PLMN providing an Attach for a restricted local operator service (RLOS) in S1010A").
Regarding Claim 29, Chun teaches a non-transitory computer readable medium storing code for scheduling of public land mobile network scanning, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor ([0017] the UE comprising a communication module; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one computer memory upon execution stores instructions), to: perform a public land mobile network (PLMN) scan according to a first schedule when a preferred PLMN of a user equipment (UE) is associated with discontinuous coverage (DC); ([0461] "That is, if the UE in the automatic network selection mode fails in accessing the allowed PLMN, the UE obtains the user consent for the PLMN supporting RLOS, selects an RLOS PLMN, and moves to an RLOS network selection mode” and Fig. 10A, [0525] "As illustrated in FIG. 10A, if registration on a PLMN selected by the user fails, the UE can search for at least one PLMN providing an Attach for a restricted local operator service (RLOS) in a manual network selection mode in S1030A"), and perform the PLMN scan according to a second schedule when the preferred PLMN of the UE is not associated with DC ([0461] "If the UE successfully registers on the RLOS PLMN and then receives RLOS service to register on the RLOS PLMN, the UE again returns to the automatic or manual PLMN selection mode that the UE has used previously" and Fig. 10B, [0528] "As illustrated in FIG. 10B, the UE can search for at least one PLMN providing an Attach for a restricted local operator service (RLOS) in S1010A").
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) in view of Surisetty et al. (US 2021/0329539).
Regarding Claim 3, Chun teaches the invention of Claim 1, but does not teach the at least one memory is configured to store an indication of whether the preferred PLMN is associated with DC the at least one memory and the at least one processor are configured to cause the UE to access the indication from a subscriber identity module (SIM) configured to store the indication; or the at least one memory and the at least one processor are configured to cause the UE to receive the indication from the preferred PLMN.
Surisetty teaches the at least one memory is configured to store an indication of whether the preferred PLMN is associated with DC the at least one memory and the at least one processor are configured to cause the UE to access the indication from a subscriber identity module (SIM) configured to store the indication; or the at least one memory and the at least one processor are configured to cause the UE to receive the indication from the preferred PLMN (Par. [0028] “The method includes receiving, by the UE, a registration reject message from the first wireless network, wherein the registration reject message indicates that the network slice corresponds to the S-NSSAI(s) are unavailable in one of: the registration area, a PLMN” Fig. 4 and [0043] “The registration message controller (410) may be configured to receive a registration reject message from the first wireless network (100). In embodiments, the registration reject message may be a deregistration request. The registration reject message indicates to the UE (400) that the network slice corresponding to the S-NSSAI(s) is/are unavailable in the registration area or a PLMN”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Surisetty’s indication of discontinuous coverage to produce an expected improvement in power management for UEs connecting to multiple networks.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) in view of Surisetty et al. (US 2021/0329539) in further view of in view of Lenovo, et al. (LENOVO, et al., "Considerations on Power Saving for Idle Mode in Discontinuous Coverage", 3GPP TSG RAN WG2 meeting #114 electronics, R2-2105821, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Mobile Competence Centre, 650, Route Des Lucioles, F-06921 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, France, Vol. RAN WG2, No. Electronic, 20210519 - 20210527, 11 May 2021, XP052007298, 3 Pages) (hereinafter Lenovo et al.)
Regarding Claim 4, Chun in view of Surisetty teaches the invention of Claim 3, but does not teach the indication comprises ephemeris for one or more satellites associated with the preferred PLMN.
Lenovo teaches the indication comprises ephemeris for one or more satellites associated with the preferred PLMN (Par. 2 "satellite assistance information, e.g. ephemeris, can be used for handling of coverage holes or discontinuous coverage").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Surisetty’s indication of discontinuous coverage further with Lenovo’s use of ephemeris data to produce an expected result of efficiency in cell measurement for UEs in discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 5, Chun in view of Surisetty teaches the invention of Claim 3, but does not teach the indication is received in a System Information Block (SIB) broadcast or in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) Message.
Lenovo teaches the indication is received in a System Information Block (SIB) broadcast or in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) Message (Par. 2 "how to align T3324/T3412 configuration with coverage interruption precisely needs further discussion and NAS signalling could be involved. And eDRX is similar to PSM for this issue").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Surisetty’s indication of discontinuous coverage further with Lenovo’s use of NAS signaling to produce an expected result of efficiency in cell measurement for UEs in discontinuous coverage.
Claims 7-10 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) in view of Lenovo, et al.
Regarding Claim 7, Chun teaches the invention of Claim 1, but does not teach the first schedule is based on at least one of an expected coverage period when the UE is expected to be in coverage of the preferred PLMN or an expected coverage gap period when the UE is expected to not be in coverage of the preferred PLMN.
Lenovo teaches the first schedule is based on at least one of an expected coverage period when the UE is expected to be in coverage of the preferred PLMN or an expected coverage gap period when the UE is expected to not be in coverage of the preferred PLMN (Par. 2 "the UE can request the use of PSM during an attach or TAU, and the network accepts the use of PSM by providing an Active Time value for timer T3324. Upon expiry of the timer T3324 (starting when entering IDLE), the UE may enter PSM if no PDN connection for emergency bearer services is established. And duration of PSM is restricted by periodic TAU/RAU timer T3412. If configured appropriately, the UE may enter PSM (T3324 expiration) at the end of coverage interruption for possible data reception... And eDRX is similar to PSM for this issue").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Lenovo’s coverage interruption period to produce an expected enhancement in managing cell search of UEs due to discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 8, Chun in view of Lenovo teaches the invention of Claim 7, where Lenovo further teaches the at least one memory and the at least one processor are further configured to cause the UE to: determine the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period based on a previous registration by the UE with the preferred PLMN (Par. 2 "To use relaxed monitoring it is also required that less than 24 hours have passed since measurements for cell reselection were last performed and the UE has performed intra-frequency or inter-frequency measurements for at least TSearchDelta after selecting or reselecting a new cell...To leverage relaxed monitoring for discontinuous coverage, the cell quality tolerance (SSearchDelta) has to be large enough to forbid further measurement").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Lenovo’s coverage interruption period based on prior cell measurements to produce an expected enhancement in managing cell search of UEs due to discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 9, Chun in view of Lenovo teaches the invention of Claim 7, where Lenovo further teaches the at least one memory and the at least one processor are further configured to cause the UE to: determine the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period based on information signaled by the preferred PLMN (Par. 2 "the UE can request the use of PSM during an attach or TAU, and the network accepts the use of PSM by providing an Active Time value for timer T3324. Upon expiry of the timer T3324 (starting when entering IDLE), the UE may enter PSM if no PDN connection for emergency bearer services is established. And duration of PSM is restricted by periodic TAU/RAU timer T3412. If configured appropriately, the UE may enter PSM (T3324 expiration) at the end of coverage interruption for possible data reception... And eDRX is similar to PSM for this issue").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Lenovo’s coverage interruption period based on data from the network to produce an expected enhancement in managing cell search of UEs due to discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 10, Chun in view of Lenovo teaches the invention of Claim 9, where Lenovo further teaches the information signaled by the preferred PLMN comprises ephemeris of one or more satellites associated with the preferred PLMN (Par. 2 "satellite assistance information, e.g. ephemeris, can be used for handling of coverage holes or discontinuous coverage").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Lenovo’s coverage interruption period alongside its utilization of satellite assistance information to produce an expected enhancement in managing cell search of UEs due to discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 14, Chun in view of Lenovo teaches the invention of Claim 7, where Lenovo further teaches when the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is configured at the UE, the first schedule is based on at least one configured value for the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period; (Par. 2. "To use relaxed monitoring it is also required that less than 24 hours have passed since measurements for cell reselection were last performed and the UE has performed intra-frequency or inter-frequency measurements for at least TSearchDelta after selecting or reselecting a new cell...To leverage relaxed monitoring for discontinuous coverage, the cell quality tolerance (SSearchDelta) has to be large enough to forbid further measurement"), and when the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is not configured at the UE, the first schedule is based on at least one default value for the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period (Par. 2 "the UE can request the use of PSM during an attach or TAU, and the network accepts the use of PSM by providing an Active Time value for timer T3324. Upon expiry of the timer T3324 (starting when entering IDLE), the UE may enter PSM if no PDN connection for emergency bearer services is established. And duration of PSM is restricted by periodic TAU/RAU timer T3412. If configured appropriately, the UE may enter PSM (T3324 expiration) at the end of coverage interruption for possible data reception... And eDRX is similar to PSM for this issue").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Lenovo’s cell quality tolerance and active time value to produce an expected enhancement in managing cell search of UEs due to discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 15, Chun in view of Lenovo teaches the invention of Claim 7, where Lenovo further teaches the first schedule indicates to delay the PLMN scan until the UE is expected to be in coverage of the preferred PLMN based on the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period (Par. 2 "UE can be configured or indicated to disable cell search or measurement for cell selection/reselection at the beginning of coverage interruption and enable again at end of coverage interruption (when coverage restores)").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Lenovo’s configuration to disable cell searching based on the beginning of coverage interruption to produce an expected enhancement in managing cell search of UEs due to discontinuous coverage.
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) in view of Lenovo et al. in further view of Matolia et al. (US 2022/0232464).
Regarding Claim 11, Chun in view of Lenovo teaches the invention of Claim 7, but does not teach the second schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan periodically with a periodicity that conforms to a minimum search timer; and the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan with a second periodicity that does not conform to the minimum search timer based on the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period.
Matolia teaches the second schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan periodically with a periodicity that conforms to a minimum search timer; (Par. [0117] “In some embodiments, a UE may modify its search timer behavior for different types of NTN access. For example, for the high priority PLMN (HPPLMN), the UE may maintain a normal (i.e., default) search timer periodicity”), and the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan with a second periodicity that does not conform to the minimum search timer based on the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period (Par. [0117] “The UE may receive a scaling factor m(sat) that modifies the search timer periodicity for different types of NTNs. The scaling factor may be retrieved from the USIM of the UE or the UE's internal memory, or it may be received from a steering of roaming (SoR) container) provided by the HPLMN”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to produce an expected result of reliability and connectivity for UEs in discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 12, Chun in view of Lenovo in view of Matolia teaches the invention of Claim 11, where Matolia further teaches the second periodicity is less than the minimum search timer (Par. [0117] “The UE may receive a scaling factor m(sat) that modifies the search timer periodicity for different types of NTNs. The scaling factor may be retrieved from the USIM of the UE or the UE's internal memory, or it may be received from a steering of roaming (SoR) container) provided by the HPLMN. In some embodiments, m(sat) is a 4-bit (or another number of bits) multiplier that specifies a factor from the set { 1/16, ⅛, ¼, ½, 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16} (or another set of values) with which to modify the PLMN search periodicity”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to produce an expected result of reliability and connectivity for UEs in discontinuous coverage.
Regarding Claim 13, Chun in view of Lenovo in view of Matolia teaches the invention of Claim 11, where Matolia further teaches the second periodicity is less than a minimum period of satellite visibility ([0117] "The scaling factor may increase the search frequency for PLMNs corresponding to low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS), and may decrease the search frequency for PLMNs corresponding to geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) satellites, relative to the search frequency for the HPPLMN. PLMNs for medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites may utilize an m(sat) value that is intermediate between those used for LEO and GEO satellites, in some embodiments").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to produce an expected result of reliability and connectivity for UEs in discontinuous coverage.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) in view of Lenovo et al. in further view of Jangid et al. (US 2020/0344694).
Regarding Claim 16, Chun in view of Lenovo teaches the invention of Claim 7, but does not teach the preferred PLMN is associated with DC is based on whether the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is configured at the UE for the preferred PLMN.
Jangid teaches the preferred PLMN is associated with DC is based on whether the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is configured at the UE for the preferred PLMN (Par. [0055] “At operation 502c, the method comprises calculating an overall-probability of availability of the NR spectrum within the area for a time-instant subsequent to predefined duration of time based on the classified network information” and Par. [0090] “At operation 908, the RF measurements are controlled by both modem and Big data intelligence at the server for optimization. In an example, as further indicated, when 5G probability is less say 0.5, then less frequent scan is performed. However, when 5G probability is high say 0.99, then normal or default network configured scan is performed”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Lenovo’s coverage interruption period with Jangid’s coverage probability to produce an expected result of efficiency in power management of UEs in discontinuous coverage.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) in view of Jangid et al. (US 2020/0344694).
Regarding Claim 17, Chun teaches the invention of Claim 1, but does not teach the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan more frequently than the second schedule.
Jangid teaches the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan more frequently than the second schedule (Par. [0090] “At operation 908, the RF measurements are controlled by both modem and Big data intelligence at the server for optimization. In an example, as further indicated, when 5G probability is less say 0.5, then less frequent scan is performed. However, when 5G probability is high say 0.99, then normal or default network configured scan is performed”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Chun’s changing of modes during discontinuous coverage with Jangid’s changing scan frequency to produce an expected result of efficiency in power management of UEs in discontinuous coverage.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nishant discloses “the UE scans the first set of frequencies present in the MRU frequency list. The MRU frequency list only includes the first set of frequencies and does not include the registered PLMN. Further, the UE detects that the failure to connect the first set of frequencies present in the MRU frequency list. Based on the proposed methods, the UE performs the PLMN search for the RPLMN followed by HPLMN and other priority PLMNs”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH NGHIA DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-5607. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. 7:30AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Appiah can be reached at 5712727904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.N.D./Examiner, Art Unit 2641
/CHARLES N APPIAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641